German WWI M1916 1st Pattern Helmet, Battlefield Pickup 1920's
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $375.00

Original era manufacture. German WWI M1916 1st pattern steel helmet. Battlefield relic with liner. Written in faint black paint on the exterior are the campaigns: Defense Sector, Somme, Belleau Wood and Chateau Theirry. This information is repeated on the yellow paper collector's tag affixed to the left chinstrap lug. Amazingly, the petrified leather liner is still securely fixed to the three original rivets. On the top of the helmet is rust damage, as if the helmet sat for several years on it's top in a moist environment. Further, there is a concussion crack in the left rear top of the shell and a sharpnel hole just below the left ventilator. As the tag states, perhaps a battlefield retreival by a returning Doughboy in 1928. We'll never know for certain, but it is a great old relic.